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Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

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Nanoelectronics Conference Focuses on Future of Semiconductor Manufacturing

April 22, 2015

The characterization technology needed for nanoelectronic materials and device research, development, and manufacturing was discussed by experts from industry

'Standing Room Only' for PML's Hands-On Dimensional Metrology Workshop

April 22, 2015

Earlier this month, PML's Dimensional Metrology Group hosted a three-day hands-on training event for 13 industry and government attendees. The class was given

Getting Better All the Time: JILA Strontium Atomic Clock Sets New Records

April 21, 2015

In another advance at the far frontiers of timekeeping by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers, the latest modification of a record

It's a Trap! But That's Okay for Novel Light-Detecting Material

April 17, 2015

Traps. Whether you're squaring off against the Empire or trying to wring electricity out of sunlight, they're almost never a good thing. But sometimes you can

NIST Technique Can Measure Volumes of Key 'Lab on a Chip' Components

April 17, 2015

Imagine shrinking tubes and beakers—in fact, most of a clinical chemistry lab—down to the size of a credit card. When engineers figured out how to do that two

NIST Tightens the Bounds on the Quantum Information 'Speed Limit'

April 14, 2015

If you're designing a new computer, you want it to solve problems as fast as possible. Just how fast is possible is an open question when it comes to quantum

Mind the Gap: Nanoscale Speed Bump Could Regulate Plasmons for High-Speed Data Flow

April 1, 2015

The name sounds like something Marvin the Martian might have built, but the "nanomechanical plasmonic phase modulator" is not a doomsday device. Developed by a

Precocious GEM: Shape-Shifting Sensor Can Report Conditions from Deep in the Body

March 27, 2015

Scientists working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have devised and demonstrated a new

A fired cartridge case and a fired bullet.

PML Helps Lead Standardization for Firearm and Toolmark Examinations

March 24, 2015

Xiaoyu Alan Zheng and Ted Vorburger of PML's Semiconductor and Dimensional Metrology Division were appointed to the Organization of Scientific Area Committees'

Getting a Critical Edge on Plutonium Identification

March 23, 2015

A collaboration between NIST scientists and colleagues at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has resulted in a new kind of sensor that can be used to

Lack of Effective Timing Signals Could Hamper 'Internet of Things' Development

March 19, 2015

Our fast-approaching future of driverless cars and "smart" electrical grids will depend on billions of linked devices making decisions and communicating with

NIST's MRI Measurement Tools to Help Diagnose Veterans' Traumatic Brain Injuries

March 17, 2015

More than 300,000 U.S. veterans have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in recent years, a legacy of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. But these

NIST Gets New Angle on X-Ray Measurements

March 9, 2015

Criminal justice, cosmology and computer manufacturing may not look to have much in common, but these and many other disparate fields all depend on sensitive

Novel Neutron Detector Makes Scintillating Debut

March 9, 2015

A team of researchers has successfully demonstrated a new design concept for a neutron detector that does not rely – as nearly all current models do – on a

Double Vision: New NIST Technique Can See Nanoscale 'Tree' and Microscale 'Forest' Simultaneously

March 3, 2015

A close-up view of an individual tree won't tell you much about what's going on in the forest, or even what's going on in the tree's upper branches. The same

New Imaging Technique Finds Formation of Aluminum Alloys to Blame for Next-Gen Battery Failures

March 3, 2015

Researchers working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the University of Maryland, and Sandia National Laboratories, have for the

PML to Help Automated Precision Incorporated Improve Laser Tracker Measurement Testing

February 25, 2015

Laser trackers are state-of-the-art measuring machines that are capable of measuring the dimensions of large objects (up to approximately 120 meters in length)

NIST's Michael Boss to Receive Tech Transfer Award for MRI Calibration Standard

February 24, 2015

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) physicist Michael Boss will receive the 2015 Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) Award for Excellence in

New Accelerometer Calibration Service to Start Soon

February 19, 2015

In a few weeks, NIST will begin offering a new, state-of-the-art calibration service for accelerometers. Based on a technique called laser interferometry, the

Computing for Better Radiation Therapy

February 19, 2015

Doctors devising a plan of attack on a tumor may one day gain another tactical advantage thanks to a series of sophisticated calculations proposed by PML's

integrating sphere for light measurements

Following a New MAP for Solid-State Lighting

February 19, 2015

LED lights are notably cool. But as an industry sector, solid-state lighting (SSL) keeps heating up, with demand growing rapidly in residential, commercial, and

CNST Releases the Winter 2015 Edition of the CNST News

February 18, 2015

The NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) is pleased to announce the release of the Winter 2015 edition of The CNST News. This quarterly

Autonomous Atom Assembly of Nanostructures using a Scanning Tunneling Microscope

February 13, 2015

NIST researchers have demonstrated the autonomous computer-controlled assembly of atoms into perfect nanostructures using a low temperature scanning tunneling

NIST Group Drafts Plug-and-Pay Standards

February 12, 2015

Plug-in electric vehicles make up a growing share of the nation's rolling stock and are prompting increased demand for the electrical equivalent of the corner

Flip Out! Noncommittal Material Could Make For Hypersensitive Magnetic Direction Detector

February 3, 2015

While the mysterious, unseen forces magnets project are now (mostly) well-understood, they can still occasionally surprise us. For instance, thin films of

Advanced communications
-Open Radio Access Network (Open-RAN)
-Quantum communications
-Spectrum sharing
-Wireless (RF)
Bioscience
-Bioeconomy
--Biological data
-Bioimaging
-Bioinformatics
-Biomanufacturing
-Biomaterials
-Biometrology
-Biosecurity
--Biosurveillance
--Genomic cybersecurity
--Nucleic acid sequence screening
-Cell measurements
-Engineering / synthetic biology
--Biofabrication
--Cell-free systems
--Genome engineering
--Protein engineering
-Gene delivery systems
-Genome editing
-Genomics
-Glycomics
-Metabolomics
-Microbial measurements
-Proteomics
-Transcriptomics
Buildings and Construction
-Building codes and standards
-Building control systems
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-Building economics
-Building materials
-Energy efficiency
-Heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment
-Indoor air quality
-Structural engineering
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Chemistry
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-Chemical thermodynamics and chemical properties
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Electronics
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-Organic electronics
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Energy
-Alternative energy
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-Electric power / smart grid
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Environment
-Air / water / soil quality
-Climate Measurements
-Environmental health
-Greenhouse gas measurements
-Marine science
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Fire
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-Fire fighting
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-Materials flammability
-Structural fire resistance
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Forensic Science
-Digital evidence
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-Firearms and toolmarks
-Forensic biometrics
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Health
-Biopharmaceuticals
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-Clinical diagnostics
--Cancer
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-Food and nutrition
-Human microbiome
-Precision medicine
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--Flow cytometry
Information technology
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--AI measurement and evaluation
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-Complex systems
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--Trustworthy networks
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-Data and informatics
--Human language technology
--Information retrieval
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-Federal information processing standards (FIPS)
-Health IT
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-Interoperability testing
-Location based services
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--Mobile and wireless networking
--Network management and monitoring
--Network modeling and analysis
--Network security and robustness
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--Next generation networks
--Protocol design and standardization
--Software defined and virtual networks
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-Video analytics
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Infrastructure
Manufacturing
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-Factory communications
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-Interoperability in manufacturing
-Machining
-Manufacturing economics
-Manufacturing quality assurance
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-Monitoring, diagnostics and prognostics
-Process improvement
-Process measurement and control
-Product data
-Robotics in manufacturing
--Agility and adaptability
--Collaborative robots
--Dexterous grasping
--Manipulation
--Mobility and industrial autonomous vehicles
--Navigation / actuation / control
--Sensing and perception
-Supply chain
-Sustainable manufacturing
-Systems engineering
-Systems integration
-Technology commercialization
Materials
-Ceramics
-Composites
-Concrete / cement
-Materials characterization
--Composition and structure
--Mechanical properties
--Thermal properties
-Metals
-Modeling and computational material science
-Polymers
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Mathematics and statistics
-Experiment design
-Image and signal processing
-Modeling and simulation research
-Numerical methods and software
-Statistical analysis
-Uncertainty quantification
Metrology
-Amount of substance
-Dimensional metrology
-Electrical / electromagnetic metrology
-Flow metrology and rheology
-Force metrology
-Humidity metrology
-Ionizing radiation metrology
-Mass metrology
-Metric
-Optical / photometry / laser metrology
-Pressure and vacuum metrology
-Thermometry metrology
-Time and frequency metrology
-Weights and measures
Nanotechnology
-Nanobiotechnology
-Nanochemistry
-Nanoelectronics
-Nanofabrication / manufacturing
--Lithography
--Self-assembly
-Nanofluidics
-Nanomagnetics
-Nanomaterials
-Nanomechanics
-Nanometrology
-Nanophotonics
-Nanophysics
-Nanoplasmonics
Neutron research
Performance excellence
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Physics
-Atomic / molecular / quantum
-Biological physics
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-Magnetics
-Nuclear physics
-Optical physics and communications
-Quantum information science
-Radiation
-Spectroscopy
-Thermodynamics
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Public safety
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-First responder preparedness
-Law enforcement
-Public safety communications research
-Response robots
Resilience
-Community resilience
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Standards
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